


The Pell Incident

by wanderhobbit



Category: Luther (TV)
Genre: Abduction, Hospitals, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-09 00:19:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10399443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderhobbit/pseuds/wanderhobbit
Summary: Takes place around season 2 ep 1 &2. What if Justin didn't come away as unharmed from Cameron Pell?





	

Justin  
“ Justin, all clear on the house. I’m just going to make sure Miss Calvert is alright” Justin hears DS Gray say over the radio. “ Ok copy that” Justin says.  
It’s been a long and awful night. Justin sighs thinking about how he couldn’t prevent the murder that just happened. He just wants Erin to hurry up so he can go home and take a shower and finally head to bed, with John of course.  
They have been dating for about four months now but no one at the office knew about. John was always so worried that Schenk might find out so they had to be very careful at the office.  
An uneasy feeling creeps up to him, and he is not sure if he is imagining or if he actually hears someone breathing behind him in the car. Justin turns around and sees Cameron Pell with the mask on sitting in the backseat. Pell grabs his head and he feels his head hitting the front window. Everything around him turns black.

John

John sighs, he was just about to head home when he hears his mobile Phone ringing, ‘ DS Gray’ it reads on the lit up screen. “ Yes Erin what is it?  
“ Ripley isn’t in the car anymore, there is blood all over the front window. I think Pell might have taken him. “ says Erin panicked.  
John grips the underside of his desk to steady himself, his Justin is missing. “ Did you already call for back up Erin? “ John almost shouts through his Phone. “ Yes they are on their way “ John hear Erin her shaky voice. “ Okay I’ll alert Schenk and we’ll come to you” John says trying to compose his voice. He puts his voice down and sinks down into his chair. He feels like crying, his beautiful Justin is missing. John tries to steady his breathing, they will find him he tries to reassure himself. John stands up and takes long strides to Schenk his office. John slams the door open and walks in.  
“ Guv, DS Gray just called, DS Ripley is missing “ John says to Schenk his surprised face. Schenk immediately stands up and walks out of his office.  
When John and Schenk arrive at the scene, John tries to stay calm. John looks into the car and sees the blood on the window and the drivers seat.. John walks away from the car and tries really hard not to shout in anger. John feels a hand on his shoulder and turns around to see Schenk standing behind him.  
“ He fought “ Schenk says  
“ Well he is though isn’t he “ John replies  
“ Our anger has got no place here John, I need you to be functioning fully in the moment or not here at all. We owe that to Ripley” Schenk states firmly.  
John sighs and looks at Schenk, and then he nods  
“ Making a body disappear is not easy especially in the city” John says, trying to stay calm while saying this and not trying to think about the possibility that Justin might not be alive anymore. John immediately lets go of that thought.  
“ Cameron took a risk. Was it worth it? “ John continues  
“ Worth it how? “ DS Gray asks  
“ This all of this, this circus, no this is staged, Justin is alive” John says, mostly to reassure himself. “ Cameron needs him. If Justin knows how to read Cameron he’ll know how to stay alive”

John walks away from the scene towards his car, he gets into his car. John slams his fist down on the steering wheel. All day he had been looking forward to a cosy night in with Justin.. He doesn’t even want to think about how Justin might be doing right now, he knows all of the things Cameron Pell is capable of. He starts his car and drives away. 

Justin

Justin groans and opens his eyes, for a moment he is confused. He hears water dripping beside his head and his feet are wet. His hands, his feet are tied by rope, his neck is also tied up very tight. He tries to look up and sees that the rope on his neck is tied to a hook above him. Justin panics when he sees the rope and his breathing is rapidly. The side of his face hurts a lot, and he can feel some wetness on his temples and cheeks. He wonders how long he’s been here for. He thinks about John and how much he wished John came barging in here to save him. Justin keeps trying to calm his breathing but he keeps thinking about the things Pell did to his victims and he genuinely feels scared for himself. 

Justin can hear footsteps in the long hall he is being held in, he almost suspects it’s a sewer by the smell and how small the hall is. Justin also hears a weird blazing noise. Justin can see some sort of flame at the end of the hall, his breath stocks in his throat when he sees Cameron coming closer with the burning metal stick.

Cameron stops in front of Justin, Cameron has the clown mask on and had the burning metal stick in his hand. Justin grunts and doesn’t want to think of how much this is going to hurt. Cameron waves the burning metal in front of his face. Justin breathes rapidly and tries to prepare himself. Suddenly Cameron pushes the metal on his abdomen. Justin hears a hissing noise and screams out in pain. 

 

John

The following morning John arrived at the station, he felt like shit. He didn’t sleep at all the previous night the only thing he could think about was what Justin might be going trough. John tried to compose himself whilst walking in the office. After Schenk little speech the night before he has to be functioning normally. 

“ A huge police search for a missing officer is under way, significant resources are being employed to find 32 year old detective sergeant DS Ripley “ John hears the television play in the corner of the office.  
He looks sadly at the picture of Ripley and his heart clenches with worry and love for Justin. He sighs deeply and walks over to Benny and Erin at the deks. He sits down “ Let’s go over it again “. 

“ So what do we know? “ John asks. “ Pell Works longs hours, minimum wage, he cleans corporate offices in the city “ Erin says whilst pacing around them.  
“ That makes doesn’t it? Big office, midnight. He’s got all of London to stare at and fantasize about. “ John mumbles and sighs deeply.  
They go over Cameron spending patterns, Pell withdrew 65 grand from his account .Erin shows John some of Pells art work which is all about empty rooms and buildings.

They already knew Cameron Pell was obsessed with the folklore of spring heeled jack.  
“ Spring heeled Jack disappeared into folklore because he was never caught, Jack the ripper was a myth too. I think Cameron is going to try and disappear and haunt us by his absence. “ John says,  
“ We need to stop trying to predict what he is going to do next and work backwards instead. “ John continues. “ Start of by finding the contacts he made in prison. “ John says to Benny.

Justin:

Cameron pokes the metal stick a last time in Justin his abdomen and then walks away. Justin is groaning in pain and is trying not to black out. He doesn’t think he has ever been in so much pain as he is in now. His neck hurts from the rope cutting in his skin. Justin can’t see Cameron anymore but he doesn’t want to think about what Cameron is going to do next. John John is trying very hard with Benny to figure out which contacts Pell has made in prison and if any of them are out of prison. They find one, his name is Paul Hoby. John hears his mobile ringing and he slides his chair towards his office. “ Shut up its Justin’s Phone, Benny? “ He nods towards Benny to see if Benny is ready to trace the call. “ Hello? “ John saying, trying to sound confident. He doesn’t want to show how nervous he is. Trough the Phone he hears Justin screaming in agony, John doesn’t want to think about what Cameron is possibly doing to Justin at this moment. A distorted voice says “ I’m sorry you made me hurt your puppy, he’s a noisy little customer isn’t he? “ John hangs up his Phone, he wants to break something but he can’t not with everyone watching him. John slams his Phone down on his desk. His mobile buzzes again, he lets it go, he can’t handle hearing Justin scream in agony again. Erin her Phone rings “ Don’t answer that “ John warns her. “ He’s trying to make contact, he might be trying to reach out, he might be trying to stop” Erin says while looking down at her Phone. “ Listen if you answer that Phone, Cameron got out attention. He thinks he’s setting up a relationship with us. As soon as he thinks that he doesn’t need Ripley anymore. “ John says trying to stay calm “ But this is “ Erin tries. “ DS Gray do not pick up that Phone! That’s it! “ Erin gives him an angry look but sits back down on her chair. A few seconds later the landline on Luther’s office rings. Schenk walks over to the Phone and makes it go through to the answering machine but puts it on speaker.  
“ I know you’re there, I know you’re listening. I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve. I’m opening up a dialogue here. Trying to find a way through this, trying to find a way you can get your friend back in one piece. “ They all listen intently to Cameron distorted voice. 

John clenches his fist together and takes a deep breath. He just wants this all to be over, for Justin to be unharmed and back in his arms. He misses Justin so much.

“ What Happens to Ripley if you ignore me will be on your head. And I’ll send you photographs of every cut, every burn and every incision. I will send you every second of his screaming. “ John shudders at the thought. He is not sure if he can handle this any longer. He stands by his desk and grips it very tightly. John knees nearly buckle when he hears Justin screaming in agony again. 

“ How much more of this can you take? You’ve got ten seconds to pick up this Phone. If you do not answer then Ripley here will regret it. “ Cameron says. They all hear Cameron counting down, it takes everything in Johns willpower not to answer the Phone. 

“ PICK UP THE PHONE!” Cameron is screaming through the Phone. John thinks Cameron is starting to sound pretty desperate. John can’t handle it anymore and tears the Phone from the desk.  
“ No that voice, those voices that’s the man we’re going to leave out on the street tonight if we do not do our jobs properly. “

John sits back down and his desk and everyone slowly starts to get back to work. John sighs and rubs his hand over his face. The things he would do right now to have his Justin back and working here with him. John feels a hand on his shoulder he looks up and sees Schenk.

“ What if Pell regards your silence as a weakness rather than strength? “ Schenk asks worriedly. John thinks about this for a moment. “ He won’t “ Schenk nods and places a file on his desk “ From DS Gray” John starts to read the report on Paul Hoby, the ex inmate that Cameron befriended in prison. 

Justin

Justin is shuddering in pain. He is trying not to black out he is in so much pain. Cameron just came back to torture him whilst on the Phone with John. Justin tried not to scream when Cameron was calling John because he didn’t want John to know how bad the torture was he was going trough at the moment. Justin was pretty sure that if Cameron continued at this rate with the torture he probably would die down here. Lonely and in agony down in a sewer. This thought made tears leaking down from his eyes, he just wanted to see John once more. Hug John and tell him it’ll all be fine. 

Justin hears the curtains again and sees Cameron coming back, oh no he thinks. “ They stopped looking for you. Why is that? “ Cameron asks him. Justin his throat hurts from the tightness of the rope and the from the screaming he did a few moments ago.

“ If they target the manpower’s in certain areas , you’ll know how close they are to finding you.” He says. He’s in so much pain and talking is making it worse. 

“ Do you think they’re close to finding me?” Cameron asks him. “ Do you?” He asks Cameron in return. This makes Cameron explode and he comes towards Justin. Cameron slams his fists into Justin his abdomen where Cameron just burned Justin with the stick. Justin screams in agony and stars are dancing in front of his eyes. Cameron keeps punching him in his stomach. The last thing Justin hears Cameron say is “ It does mean I don’t have to return you in one piece.” Justin his head falls forward and he doesn’t feel anything for a while.

John 

John felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, he fishes his phone out of his jeans and sees a message from Justin’s phone. John closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He’s not sure if he wants to see what is in this text. He doesn’t want to open the text message in front of his colleagues so he wanders off to the toilet. Once he’s locked in one of the stalls he open the text. John feels himself weaken. The text includes a photograph of Justin tied up. He’s got rope along his neck and his hand and feet are tied together. Justin his head is hanging forward so John suspects he isn’t conscious. There is blood all over Justin’s white shirt and the side of his head. John feels bile rising up in his throat.  
‘ If you want your puppy back in one piece you better reply to this photo. Or other photographs will follow.... ‘ the text message under the photo reads. John lets out a sob and throws up in the toilet. 

John walks back into the office and heads towards Benny. “ Benny I just received this. “ John shows the photo to Benny and sees Benny horrified reaction. “ I’ll see if I can trace the text. “ Benny says while giving John a reassuring squeeze in the shoulder.

" Boss, Cameron withdrew every penny of the 65 grand he inherited from his mother, I followed the money.” Ds Gray says,  
John nods at her waiting for her to continue.  
“ Cameron is using a contact of Bryson, that’s another mate he met in prison. “ Erin clarifies when se sees their confused faces.  
“ Trough Bryson’s contact he bought a one comer style van, a car, huge amounts of sodium hydroxide and a second hand bus. “  
“ Go on “ John urges her.  
“ He’s going to make a bomb.” Erin exclaims  
John thinks about it for a second. “ No a bomb is loud. It’s about sound. It’s about fury. Cameron is the opposite of a bomb .He’s about silence, emptiness, absence. “  
“ If he’s not making a bomb why does he need 3000 gallons of sodium hydroxide? “ Erin asks him  
“ The opposite of an explosion is an implosion. Black hole. “ John murmurs.  
“ A black hole consumes matter and crushed it beyond existence. When I first heard that I thought that’s evil at it most pure isn’t it? Something that drags you in and crushes you to nothing. Maybe he want to use that material to dispose, dispose of bodies. “ John’s heart clenches when he says this and thinks about Justin. What if Cameron wanted to make Justin body disappear? John misses his boy so much, he just want to hold him and kiss all his cuts and bruises better. John doesn’t want to think about the photo of Justin tied in the ropes.

“ Oh my god “ Erin says while putting her hand on her face “ What if? “ she murmurs  
“ Don’t even think about that DS Gray “ Schenk says with a stern tone in his voice “ Ripley is tough, I’m sure he will be fine.”  
“ What do we fear the most? The unknown. The loss of a loved one. Who do we love the most? Who do we protect? Who do we shield from all the evil in the world? Who do we tell that there is no such thing as the bogeyman? I think that Cameron is going after children.” 

“ Luther I found a car registered trough Bryson’s name, I hacked into the GPS system of the car and it’s been driving a lot to Green valley industrial park.  
“ So what are we waiting for? “ John asks whilst putting on his coat.

Justin 

Justin’s eyes slowly started to adjust to the darkness, he was laying down for some reason, and his shirt was soaked. Justin suddenly feels an intense pain in his neck. He screams out in agony when he hears a hissing noise. Cameron is holding a knife with the point lit up. He’s pressing it to Justin’s neck.  
“ Oh I’m sorry I couldn’t get you awake. I’m also awfully sorry about your shirt, but I couldn’t keep you upright with the rope clinging in your neck otherwise you would’ve died before all the fun starts. “ Cameron says to Justin. Justin groans, he can’t breathe properly and his body hurts so much. 

“ Come on we’re going for a ride! “ Cameron tells him. Justin is in so much pain, he tries to stand up but his stomach hurts so much. Justin tries again and nearly blacks out from the pain. After Cameron punched him in the stomach multiple times something did not feel right in his stomach beside the burns of course.  
Cameron loses his patience and pulls Justin up roughly and when Justin yelps in pain, Cameron presses the still hot tip of the knife in his back. Justin groans in pain and feels his knees buckle again.

“ Oh come on, you’re going to need to walk out of here if you want to see your big boss Luther again.” Cameron taunts him while pressing the knife a bit so Justin starts walking. It’s only a two minute walk before they’re outside and he’s being shoved into a green old comer style van. 

Cameron steps in the van and pulls a plastic bag over Justin’s head. His breathing immediately picks up. “ If you panic, you suffocate.” Cameron leaves and closes the van with those words.  
Justin tries to calm himself but he feels tears rolling down his cheeks, he wishes for this to all be over. He almost wishes he was dead so he was relieved from the intense pain he was feeling.

After a five minute drive the car was halted to a stop and he heard the doors at the front being slammed close. He was wondering what Cameron was up to. The pain inside his stomach kept growing bigger and he was so tired. He tried to get the plastic bag of his head but his hands were tied behind his back. ‘ This is it ‘ he thought when he felt himself sinking in the darkness. 

After a while he was woken up by a hand on his shoulder. He could also breathe normally. The hand on his shoulder belonged to a boy around the age of 10.

“ What are you doing here? “ Justin whispered. His throat hurt so much from all the screaming that he couldn’t talk any longer.

“ I don’t know, the bus driver put us all in this bus. “ the boy answers him

John 

DS Gray and John were just about to head out and drive towards the industrial park when Schenk stopped them. A few uniforms found the trolley bus that Pell hired abandoned, all the kids their bags and mobile phones were left in that bus. 

“ What do you think he’s going to do to those kids?” Erin asks as they’re about to head to the car.  
“ I have no idea. “ John says. The only thing John could think about at the moment was Justin. He hadn’t received a text message from Cameron since that morning. He wasn’t sure if he thought that was a good or bad sign. John wondered where Justin was, if he was at the same place as the missing kids or if Cameron left Justin somewhere. He doesn’t even want to think in which condition Justin must be. 

“ Boss?” Erin begins carefully, “ Do you still think Ripley can fend for himself? “  
“ I keep hoping he escaped but I’m not sure anymore. “ John admits truthfully. Erin nods and doesn’t bring up the subject of Ripley anymore.  
Erin steps in the driver seat and John is the passenger. John hears his phone beep and sees he’s got a text from Justin’s number. John breath stocks in his throat. He opens the text and sees a photograph of Justin’s laying with a plastic bag over his head. John groans, he hopes Justin can hold on a bit longer. 

When they arrive at the industrial park, John tries to peek inside but everything is locked off. He finds a small spot is able to push some wood away so he and Erin can enter the building. When they arrive Cameron is holding a knife to a little boys throat. The old comer style bus is standing in the middle of the building and has a pipe connected to it. John suspect the pipe contains gas to let the kids inside the van suffocate. 

Cameron notices John “ Don’t you move!” He screams. “ I swear one more step and I’ll spill this kids guts all over the floor. “ 

“ What’s your name? “ John asks the little boy . “ Hey don’t you talk to him! “ Cameron warns the boy.  
“ My name is Tim, “ The boy says softly. “ HEY “ Cameron screams tightening his grip on the boys throat.  
“ He’s not going to hurt you Tim.” John says reassuringly.  
“ Yes I am, see I’m going to slit his throat.” Cameron screams  
“ You know why he isn’t going to hurt you, he is just a pathetic little man. He is too weak to hurt without this on his face. “ John says as he grabs the mask from the floor.  
“ Isn’t that right Cameron? “ John continues.  
Cameron looks at him with a shocked expression and loosens his grip on the boy. John uses that moment to grab the boy and run to the van. DS Gray is already at the van and pulls the pipe out of the van. John opens the doors and all the kids start coming out of the van. DS Gray sighs in relief and leads all the kids towards the exit .

John is walking away from the van and back towards Cameron to arrest him when Cameron suddenly speaks up. 

“ You know DCI Luther, not wearing that mask hasn’t stopped me form hurting your precious little puppy. “ John freezes in his tracks.

“ You want to see him again? “ Cameron taunts him  
Cameron walks back over to the van and walks into it. John hears a dragging noise and sees Cameron pulling Justin to his feet. 

Justin is looking worse for wear. In the distance John hears sirens go, probably uniforms and SOCO’s arriving at the crime scene. A car pulled up outside and Schenk makes his way towards the building. 

“ See your little puppy hear got a little burned “ Says Cameron as he puts his hand around Justin’s neck. Cameron presses Justin up to the van. Justin shouts in agony when his back hits the bus. Cameron presses the knife he’s holding against Justin stomach. 

John gasps when he sees Justin, he’s got blood all over his white shirt, the side of his head has a huge gash where blood is still dripping down to his neck. John sees that Justin is having a hard time to keep upright, his knees keep buckling a bit.  
John looks at Schenk who is standing behind him, Schenk has a horrified look on his face when he sees all the blood on Justin. 

“ Please don’t hurt him anymore, you’ve done enough.” John says angrily.  
“ Armed officers could be here any second, they won’t hesitate to shoot you, you know.” Schenk says. 

“ Then I guess we got to be quick!” Cameron says with a weird smile playing around his mouth. 

The sirens are coming closer, John can see them coming closer, they’re almost here. John has to find a way to stop Cameron from hurting Justin any further. He tries to think of strategy’s but he can’t come up with any. If he makes Cameron any angrier, Cameron will definitely hurt Justin. On the other side John does not think a soft and emotional response will work on Cameron. John looks at Schenk, John is in full panic mode, if he doesn’t do anything now Justin might not even make it out of here. 

The sirens come to a stop and sees uniforms making their way out of the car. Cameron sees it as well and gets a panicked look on his face.  
“ Please Cameron, be reasonable. Please don’t hurt him” John pleads, he can feel his eyes water when he hears Justin groan in pain.

Cameron laughs and evil smile at John and Schenk and thrust the knife deep into Justin stomach. John hears Justin scream in agony.  
Cameron pulls the knife back and stabs Justin again, but this time higher straight trough Justin’s chest. “ NO “ John and Schenk scream at the same time. Cameron just smiles and pulls the knife back. Justin is screaming in agony and drops to the floor. John and Schenk both do not care that Cameron is still holding the knife they just run straight towards Justin. They both crouch down. John sits behind Justin and lays Justin’s head on his lap. Schenk pulls of his scarf and presses it to Justin stomach to try and stop the bleeding. 

“ Officer down, I need a medic here right NOW!” Schenk screams through his phone.  
“ The last medic just left the scene. “ Ds Gray says trough the phone.  
“ Then get them back here now!. “  
“ Okay sir,” Erin answers 

“ Justin please stay with me.” John pleads when he sees Justin his eyes are closed. John is stroking Justin’s hair in the way he always does when they’re cuddling. John hopes Justin will, respond to it.

Justin’s breathing came out harsh, and fast. John pressed his hand to the wound on Justin’s chest to stop the bleeding. 

“ I told you I could hurt someone without having the mask on. The mask just makes it easier. “ Cameron says with the bloody knife still in his hands. He barely finished his sentence when uniforms come running in and arrest Cameron. 

John feels his blood boiling when he hears Cameron say this and John feels like ripping Cameron’s head of but his main priority right now is Justin. John turns his head back to Justin. John feels Justin’s breathing slow down. John sees Schenk looking at Justin’s barely moving chest.  
“ It’s going to be alright love, just hold on. “ John murmurs again to Justin not caring Schenk can hear them.  
“ I can’t breathe John “ Justin says weakly and his breaths come out laboured “ It hurts John.”  
“ I know love, but you need to keep your eyes open a little longer. “  
“ I love you John. “ Justin tries to lift his arm up to stroke John but he is too weak and he groans in pain  
“ No love please don’t, Justin no keep your eyes open for me.” .  
John looks panicked at Schenk. “ How long until the medics arrive? “  
“ I don’t know they should be here soon. “ Schenk look thoughtful at John stroking Justin’s hair, and the fact that Justin just said I love you seems a bit strange to him.

John doesn’t even notices Schenk looks towards him when he feels Justin go limp in his arms. “ Justin no!:” He almost shouts. John puts his hand Justin chest to feel if he’s still breathing. Justin’s breathing is very slow, Justin can barely breathe anymore, John can hear his wheezing breath. “ Justin relax the medics are here.” John knows Justin probably can’t even hear him. He sees the medics running  
toward them with a gurney. John presses a kiss to Justin’s forehead.  
. John places his finger in Justin’s neck he feels that Justin pulse keeps slowing, which isn’t so weird considering all the blood he lost in the past few days. If he ever got his hand on Cameron he wouldn’t hesitate to strangle him.


End file.
